Guwahati: Islamist Jihadi with Pakistani connection was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Assam police. The arrest was made in Barpeta on the early morning of March 14, Saturday. The Jihadi was identified as Mistafizur Rahman from Azan Nagar in Barpeta district by STF in a targeted operation. Immediately after the arrest Mustafizur was brought to STF headquarter in Guwahati for further investigation. The STF has successfully arrested the third Islamic terrorist from the Barpeta district within a span of 4 days.
STF sources said that searches were carried out in several locations of the area after the arrest of Mustafizur; several incriminating documents were seized by the STF during the search operation. The source also revealed that arrested Mustafizur was maintaining a low profile and was running a cloth store in front of the Barpeta road jama masjid while working for a Bangladesh based terror group. A laptop and two cell phones used by the arrested Jihadi were also seized by the police.
On March 10, in a late night operation, STF arrested two Jihadi identified as Shadul and Islam. STF seized Pakistani and Bangladeshi SIM cards from the arrested terrorists. STF sources further revealed that based on the confession of the arrested Islamic terrorists from Sorbhug area of Barpeta on March 10, the third arrest was made on March 14. The three Jihadis were involved as sleeper cell members of a Bangladesh based terror group. They were involved in setting up bases for the Bangladesh based terror group and were primarily engaged in radicalising local Muslim youth for violent Jihad.
They were in touch with their handlers in Bangladesh through various means of digital communication including darkweb. On December 29, 2025 STF launched Operation Pratighat, swooping down across the state and into neighbouring Tripura and busted the Jihadi network of Imam Mahmadur Kafila (IMK). 10 Islamist jihadis were apprehended in various Assam hideouts, with the 11th caught red-handed in Tripura—thwarting a major terror plot in its tracks.
IMK is using mosques in Assam, Tripura and West Bengal to radicalise people and advocate for armed violence in India. On December 28, 2024, IMK held a meeting in a mosque in Barpeta where jihadi Nasiruddin and Monirul Islam made statements advocating violent armed Jihad in Assam and India. IMK collected huge amounts of funds in Assam, West Bengal and Tripura through donations in cash or Bank deposits and regularly transferred it to Bangladesh via Hawala networks.
Based on the intelligence reports of central intelligence agencies and STF’s own inputs, an operation was launched simultaneously in Assam and Tripura. STF conducted the midnight operation in Baksa, Chirang, Darrang and Barpeta districts of Assam and nabbed 11 Jihadis, while one Jihadi was arrested from Tripura.
